


Bench

by HalfASlug



Series: Back [11]
Category: Broadchurch
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-02-27
Updated: 2017-02-27
Packaged: 2018-09-27 04:59:27
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,744
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9968633
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HalfASlug/pseuds/HalfASlug
Summary: Hardy, Miller and the bench.





	

It was an artform, interrogation. Hardy had always thought so. More beautiful than any battle and more nuanced than any argument. Watching Miller soar was more intense than any play or piece of music he’d ever experienced. He had been so lost in her performance that he’d nearly fluffed his lines. He hadn’t, of course. Miller and Hardy were a well oiled machine. It all flowed so naturally between them that he would bet good money on them being able to do it blindfolded.

 

He followed her to the debriefing room, the adrenaline still coursing through him, only inhibited by the knowledge that cracking the case would only act as a bandage over a still bleeding wound. With a case this strong and a confession to boot, however, it would not be allowed to fester.

 

The team turned to face them the moment they entered the room, the same unasked question on all of their lips.

 

Miller wasted no time in answering it. “We got him.”

 

Through the resulting congratulations and palpable relief in which many hands were shaken and backs were clapped, Hardy watched Miller. The pride was evident on every inch of her face though she humbly deferred all praise from her colleagues. Hardy found he couldn’t look away, even when others tried to speak to him.

 

At one point, her eyes had met his across the room and she’d grinned at him. If his feet hadn’t felt glued to the floor he wouldn’t have hesitated in striding across the room and kissing her.

 

Even now, hours later, the image was playing through his head. 

 

A display that public would normally have made his skin crawl, but it didn’t matter to him at the time. Seeing her become every bit of the detective he knew she could be, how astoundingly beautiful she had looked to him, exhausted, over-worked and smiling, was overwhelming.

 

There hadn’t been much time to dwell on the crazy impulse as soon after the inevitable mountain of paperwork had to be dealt with. For once, Hardy found it almost impossible to turn his mind off and concentrate on work.

 

Eventually, they were the only two left in the office. Miller suggested they went for a walk to clear their heads before going home. Sometimes it was necessary to have a break between the horrors police work could produce and going home to the family.

 

Without discussion or a plan, they ended up sat on the bench by the beach they had found themselves on so many times before.

 

The sun was slowly crawling up towards the horizon, bathing the entire beach in a deep orange light. For once, Miller’s coat didn’t stick out, but blended in perfectly with the surroundings. Hardy had always known that Broadchurch was a huge part of who Ellie Miller was, but he was only just appreciating that, to him, she was a huge part of the town he had reluctantly called his home.

 

Whatever happened to him, Hardy knew the image of her so at home and content would stay with him for the rest of his life.

 

“I’ve been offered a promotion,” she announced, breaking the silence Hardy had been enjoying.

 

Hardy raised his eyebrows. He hadn’t realised the DCI was leaving. 

 

He was on the verge of offering his congratulations when he noticed how she was avoiding his eye and fiddling with her sleeve.

 

“It’s in Bridport.”

 

The air left Hardy’s lungs so quickly he feared his chest would collapse. “What?”

 

“Well, it’s not a  _ promotion  _ promotion,” she hastened to explain. “It’s still a DI job but it’s more money and-”

 

“You’re not considering it, are you?”

 

She glared at him. “Don’t start with this  _ sticking to your level _ bullshit again.”

 

“You love Broadchurch.” 

 

“It’s not that far away. Can still come to visit Lucy and Olly. Beth and Mark as well.” She shrugged. “Everyone, really.”

 

The vague hint she might pop in and see him on occasion if she left did nothing to calm Hardy. It wasn’t enough. 

 

Without Miller Broadchurch was just a place. The people, the businesses, the cliffs… none of it held any sentimental meaning for him if she wasn’t there to make it shine. After years of being rootless, he had relished finding a place to settle down. Even Daisy had stopped being outwardly scornful of the town. Finally, he could see the future that for so long he thought he’d never get the chance to experience.

 

And now it was crumbling around him.

 

“You’d just leave? After everything?” He tried to keep the panic out of his voice but he feared he wasn’t successful.

 

“I’ve proved my point by staying. Leaving now would be leaving on my own terms,” she explained with a sad smile. “If I stay here just to spite him, then he still wins.”

 

Hardy swallowed around the lump in his throat. He hated how, even now, her life was still haunted by Joe. He wished he could wash away any stain he’d left on her.

 

“The future is your best revenge.”

 

“Very profound. And healthier than wanting to snap his neck.”

 

She gave him a weak smile, both of them aware she wasn’t entirely joking. The reminder of the hell she had been through and the strength she had shown throughout was enough for Hardy to put aside his own needs.

 

“You deserve it.”

 

Miller shot him a questioning look and Hardy backtracked.

 

“The job. You’re perfect for it.”

 

“Yeah?”

 

“Yeah.”

 

She made a valiant effort to hide her smile from him, but he caught it. Hardy looked away from her to not draw any attention to it.

 

Logically he knew he should be proud of her, and he was, it was just hard to fight through the feeling of being abandoned.

 

Miller took a phone call from Beth to explain she’d be able to pick her boys up soon and to thanked her again for babysitting. After she hung up, she said something about how she “couldn’t be arsed to walk” and called a cab.

 

The day Hardy left Broadchurch came back to him. Watching Miller walk away from him that day had been one of the most bittersweet moments of his life. With everything they had been through since, he knew the feeling would increase tenfold if she moved to Bridport. 

 

The thought alone made his heart clench in a way he hadn’t experienced since his surgery.

 

A cab pulled up in the car park next to the beach five minutes of comfortable silence later.

 

“That’s me,” Ellie said and they both stood.

 

“See you, Miller.”

 

“Yeah.” She nodded, making no move to leave.

 

Hardy sighed. “I’m not hugging you.” 

 

Thankfully, Miller chuckled and held her hand out. “Thanks for everything, Hardy.”

 

One flash of a smile later and she walked away from him, her shadow stretching ahead of her.

 

Though she was only going to the Latimers and then her own house, the image served as a preview to the day she would walk away and evoked more memories of the last time and every night’s sleep that conversation had interrupted.

 

Just when he thought there was a chance for them, that patience would be rewarded, the top half of the hourglass ran out of sand. 

 

She had nearly reached the cab when Hardy realised he still had an option left to him. 

 

He was sprinting down the path before he had worked all, if any, of the details.

 

“MILLER!”

 

She whipped around and her eyes went wide. Years had gone by since he had his pacemaker put in, yet seeing him physically exert himself still panicked her.

 

He saw her speak to the driver as he came to a stop in front of her. Before she could say anything, giving him time to talk himself out of anything, he got straight to the point.

 

“Don’t leave.”

 

She shook her head in confusion. “The cab’s already here.”

 

“No, not-” he panted, trying to catch his breath. “Don’t leave Broadchurch.”

 

“You just said-”

 

“Fuck what I said. You can’t...” He trailed off and tried to convey his message to her in his expression. He felt naked as it was. Doing nothing to hide his true feelings couldn’t make anything worse.

 

It looked like Miller had stopped breathing. “Hardy?”

 

Hardy decided to go for broke and use the one technique he hadn’t yet tried - honesty. “I don’t want you to leave.”

 

There was the rush of the breeze, the softly crashing waves and gull calls, but Hardy couldn’t hear any of it. All he could hear was the pounding of his heart and all he could see was Miller’s unblinking eyes. 

 

He had no idea how long they stood in silence, but in that time, with his poorly kept secret finally out in the open, all fear left him. It didn’t matter how the conversation ended, at least this time he could say he didn’t let life pass him by. This time he acted. 

 

“I know you don’t want to talk about that night, Ellie, but-”

 

“Don’t.” Miller’s voice sounded choked. “Don’t call me Ellie. I’m Miller. You’re Hardy. And that’s...” She took a breath and it shuddered out of her. “Oh fuck,” she whispered as she grabbed his shirt and used it to steady herself. She rose up onto her toes and kissed him hard.

 

His drunk memory was nothing compared to the crystal clear experience of kissing Ellie Miller.

 

He pulled her close as he felt her hands in his hair. Five years ago, when he met the woman currently in his arms, he never would have imagined this moment would happen, let alone how much he would have wanted it to. Back then his life and been in pieces. It had taken more strength than he knew he had, but he had slowly put the fragments back together. 

 

It wasn’t until he was done that he’d noticed a piece was missing.

 

It took him even longer to admit he knew what it was.

 

Now, as it slid into place, Hardy felt at peace.

 

Miller broke off the kiss but stayed close enough that their foreheads were touching. He met her eyes and was unsurprised to see them glistening.

 

“Hi.”

 

She grinned and it nearly blinded him. “Hi.”

  
Unable to stop himself, he kissed her again, promising to do everything within his power to make sure Ellie Miller spent the rest of her life as happy as he was.

**Author's Note:**

> Huge thanks to everyone who followed this series! I know this is definitely not how s3 will go down (mainly because Joe is 100% making some kind of appearance) but it's been fun trying to guess what will happen from the set pictures. Also thank you to everyone who has been a part of the BC hiatus. It's been as fun as it has frustrating waiting for these two to be back on our screens. But the wait is nearly over, guys! Good luck and I'll probably see you all on the other side...


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